"I see anger, man. I see somebody who refuses to go down. When I run, I really think about him every time. And when I go back and watch him, I'm like, 'Man, I really run like this dude, man. It's crazy.' Growing up, my favorite running back was Reggie Bush. And as I got older and started really studying running backs, I was like, 'Man, Beast Mode reminds me a lot of myself.'

"As a runner in between the tackles, in my opinion, there's no one better than me in that area, point blank," he said. "I run hard. I hardly ever get tackled by one person. And I'm very powerful. I get a lot of hidden yardage."

Carroll likes that. The coach also likes to stack his Seahawks roster with players who have overcome adversity, who carry chips on their shoulder.

Gurice knows adversity.

His father was murdered when Guice was a child. His mother raised him in a disadvantaged part of Baton Rouge, La.

"I pretty much bring all of it with me as a player. I think about the struggles I encountered early in life, and how my mom struggled as a single parent raising me and my older brother," Guice said at the combine.

"And I just want better for her and myself, and I run with that passion on the field, because I don't want my mom to struggle anymore."

Guice was a backup at Louisiana State to Leonard Fournette, the Jacksonville Jaguars' 2017 top pick, in 2016. Yet he still led the Southeastern Conference that year with 1,387 yards rushing and 15 rushing touchdowns while starting just six of 12 games.

Last summer he injured his knee in preseason practice, then again in a mid-September game against Mississippi State. He finished with 1,153 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns after missing a game. He said he played through pain much of the year.

The Seahawks have Chris Carson, their surprise lead back to begin last season until the rookie broke his leg on Oct. 1. Carroll has raved about Carson this summer.

The Seahawks also re-signed Mike Davis, who started at the end of last season. Carroll said last month Davis and Carson will enter the preseason competing for the top running-back job.

Top options

1. Saquon Barkley, Penn State: The only Nittany Lion with 3,000 rushing yards and 1,000 yards receiving was a complete stud at the combine. It cemented his status as a do-it-all pick at the top of this draft.

2. Derrius Guice, LSU: Says he wants to emulate "Beast Mode," and runs with the power and punishment of Marshawn Lynch. Has endured his father being murdered when he was a child. Will Lynch's old team take Guice in round one?

3. Sony Michel, Georgia: Many have USC's Ronald Jones and Auburn's Kerryon Johnson going higher. But 279 yards in the national semifinal and championship a few months ago show how good Michel is big games. Skilled receiver for every-down NFL work.

Later-round options

1. Royce Freeman, Oregon: Has the power and size (5-11, 234) Carroll loves. Oregon's all-time rushing leader got a ton of carries in college. Question will be whether he's around when Seahawks pick in round four.

2. Kalen Ballage, Arizona State: Huge (6-2, 227), but didn't always run that way at ASU. Then again, there was that eight—8!—touchdown day as a junior against Texas Tech.